Live updates: Crews work to contain Chalk Mountain, Palo Pinto wildfires in North Texas
Firefighters continue to contain wildfires in North Texas on Wednesday, including the Chalk Mountain Fire and the wildfire at Possum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto County.
On Tuesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service responded to 24 wildfires statewide covering over 7,700 acres. Crews were back out Wednesday, beginning the day with operational plans for fire containment.
Temperatures approaching record or near-record highs of 110 degrees, combined with a relative humidity near 20% and 10-mph winds gusting to 20 mph, rebuffed efforts to contain the fires’ spread amid drought conditions, the Forest Service said.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag fire warning and excessive heat warnings for northern and central Texas and western and eastern Oklahoma on Tuesday.
No injuries have been reported in the fires, but more than two dozen homes and other structures have been destroyed.
Fire crews are receiving morning briefings all across the state! At these briefings, crews hear the operational plan for the day, are updated about the latest activity and weather as well as any issues to watch for. #txfire pic.twitter.com/nqFfu2wjLd
— Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) July 20, 2022
Chalk Mountain Fire
Texas A&M Forest Service started its response to the Chalk Mountain Fire outside of Glen Rose in Somervell County on Monday, when the fire was burning about a thousand acres. That number almost tripled overnight from Monday to Tuesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the fire was an estimated 6,339 acres and 10% contained. The forest service is using bulldozers and aviation to fight the fire.
The Chalk Mountain Fire had burned almost 10 square miles of mostly short grass, brush and juniper as of midday Wednesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported. Sixteen homes were destroyed and five others were damaged, said spokeswoman Alexandra Schwier.
Embers from burning tree crowns were flying up to 200 yards, officials told the Associated Press.
Nearby Hood County said it will be announcing any evacuation orders over its emergency notification system and by sending sheriff’s deputies door-to-door. Those outside the evacuation area will receive a secondary notification through the same system and will also be notified on the county’s Facebook page.
A flight restriction has been placed over the area of the fire to protect firefighters engaged in aerial efforts to fight the fire as well as those on the ground.
Aircraft, including drones, flying over the area could result in the suspension of using aircraft to fight the fire, according to Hood County.
The Chalk Mountain Fire started Monday between the community of Chalk Mountain and Dinosaur Valley State Park, which is closed until further notice. A disaster declaration was made by the county on Tuesday.
A mandatory evacuation order Tuesday night in Hood County was lifted hours after it was issued for a rural area south of Tolar, about 45 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Anybody who does evacuate in Hood or Somervell counties is recommended to go to the Somervell Expo Center, which has food and sleeping arrangements.
FM 205 from County Road 1008 to FM 52 is closed due to the fire, according to the county.
Officials said there was no threat to the nearby Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant.
The Creation Evidence Museum of Texas in Glen Rose also was not damaged by the fire.
Ninety firefighters worked around the clock focusing on protecting structures and digging a containment line around the fire’s northeastern leading edge. Airdrops of fire retardant began Wednesday morning with a special DC-10 called a very large air tanker and two MD-80s called large air tankers dropping 60,000 gallons of retardant near that leading edge by midafternoon, Schwier said.
Update: the #ChalkMountainFire in Somervell County remains an estimated 1,200 acres and 5% contained. Aviation continued to support ground crews through the evening. Dozers and engine crews continue to build fireline and work to protect structures. #txfire pic.twitter.com/VCKRWz1Wot
— Incident Information - Texas A&M Forest Service (@AllHazardsTFS) July 19, 2022
Palo Pinto County fire
Crews responded to the Palo Pinto County fire Monday afternoon, which set several homes ablaze and covered an estimated 500 acres. The forest service said the wildfire, called the 1148 Fire because it was burning near FM 1148, was 15% contained as of Wednesday.
Fire crews will focus on constructing and improving containment lines throughout the day, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
— Tyler George (@TyGe86) July 18, 2022
The Palo Pinto County fire impacted Possum Kingdom Lake, about 80 miles west of Fort Worth, prompting evacuations and burning homes on the lake shore.
A view from Possum Kingdom Lake
On Wednesday, a Star-Telegram reporter viewed the destruction from a boat on Possum Kingdom Lake.
At least two homes were visibly gutted by the flames. All that remained of one house was its concrete slab and charred stone columns. At another, only the chimney was left standing. Other signs left behind were concrete steps, a dock and a burned jet ski under a tree.
Authorities reported at least 10 structures — five of them homes — were destroyed, although assessment of the damage continued as the fire still burned Wednesday. The affected homes are in an area called Lake Shore Cove.
Firefighters were spraying the rubble with water, making sure no sparks would reignite.
Next to the destroyed homes, others appeared untouched by the flames, and charred, empty land was contrasted by the green of a nearby hill covered with trees.
No flames could be seen from the lake Wednesday morning, but smoke was in the air and intense heat from the fire could be felt.
Adam Turner, a spokesman with the Forest Service, said the Palo Pinto County blaze was still considered an active fire Wednesday. After a flareup when the fire grew Tuesday, firefighters have worked to maintain a perimeter and cool down hot spots. Officials are unsure how long it will take to extinguish the fire.
Stanifer Branch Fire
The Stanifer Branch Fire in Bosque County, about 80 miles south of Fort Worth, was 160 acres as of Tuesday night with an 80% containment, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.
Bosque County and surrounding areas were placed in a red flag warning for extreme fire danger Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Bosque County Office of Emergency Management.
Another fire in Bosque County, the Hard Castle Fire, started on July 6 and was contained 10 days later, Texas A&M Forest Service reported.
East County Fire
Texas A&M Forest Service responded to a wildfire in Kaufman County, east of Dallas, on Tuesday afternoon.
As of Wednesday evening, the East County Fire remained an estimated 500 acres and was 60% contained. A fireline was completed near the east side of the fire and dozers were lined to the west side of the fire. Engine crews patrolled and checked for hot spots.
West Bend Fire
Forest Service crews responded to a wildfire in Wichita County on Tuesday afternoon which was initially estimated to be 400 acres with no containment.
By the evening, the West Bend Fire was estimated to be 3,500 acres with 15% containment. The fire was resistant to control at times as dozers worked to construct containment lines, according to the Forest Service.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the West Bend Fire was 6,522 acres with 98% containment. Crews worked late into the night and made good progress.
State response
On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to coordinate a statewide response to active wildfires in collaboration with the Texas A&M Forest Service.
“The State of Texas remains steadfast in our ongoing coordinated response to help Texans and communities affected by or at risk of wildfires,” Abbott said. “As we continue to deploy all available resources in response to widespread fire and drought conditions, Texans are encouraged to remain vigilant and weather-aware to protect themselves and their loved ones from dangerous wildfires.”
On July 16, Abbott issued a renewed wildfire disaster declaration which allowed the use of all state government and political subdivision resources necessary to cope with the disaster.
Texas Game Wardens assisted in evacuations alongside first responders during the wildfires in Palo Pinto County. The Texas Game Wardens are part of the Law Enforcement Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Weather forecast
Weather conditions aren’t expected to make some of these fires easier to fight in the coming days.
Rain chances Thursday and Friday in North Texas aren’t expected to reach far south enough to have any impact on the Chalk Mountain Fire, and extreme heat staying in the triple digits throughout the weekend is expected to make firefighting conditions more difficult to handle, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
High winds, especially Saturday through Monday, are expected to increase the danger of new fires and make it more difficult to contain any still burning by that time.
Rain storms that do reach the area of fires could actually increase the danger of fire, with lightning possibly producing new blazes, and wind gusts could help fires spread.
The Forest Service said that 99% of the state was experiencing some level of drought Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Current North Texas Wildfires
This map shows wildfires that have been updated within the past 7 days from the Integrated Reporting of Wildland-Fire Information (IRWIN) and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The larger the circle, the larger the wildfire by acres. Data is from the US Department of the Interior, Office of Wildland Fire, IRWIN, NIFC, NASA, NOAA and ESRI.
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